Why We’ve Gone Public
We’re in a season where we can offer our team to you for the sole goal of getting your book’s manuscript to market.
24 Days of 31: How Could You
Having to explain what you did, why you did it and how it is that you now have peace because of what you did placed the relationship in a bind, but friendship reset the balance.
Unforgiveness: It’s Your Jailer
It’s sort of a pain prison where the ones we refuse to forgive are our jailers.
FIT@50 / week 72
FIT@50 / week 72 Release, Relief, Renew: Talk about a week for the books. This has been one emotional roller coaster for […]
Understanding Police: My PhD Research
Understanding Police: My PhD Research I’m still in shock over the North Miami Police shooting of Charles Kinsey. I keep waiting for a plausible explanation before I make any comment on this. It’s hard, very hard to just remain silent. So many folks want to understand the world of law enforcement, but will never gain an objective perspective. My research conducted for my PhD has been published twice – once as a textbook titled, Cop Culture: Why Good Cops Go Bad, […]
Change Responsibly – Stretching the Police:
The occupational dichotomy between the enforcer and guardian ethos is a powerful pendulum swing in either direction.
FIT@50 / week 70
FIT@50 / week 70 White Flag: The white flag is usually associated with surrender. I’m not about to wave that sucker. This week my flag has been the Irish’s color of kelly green. Though it’s a bit exhausting. I’ve had a great time chronicling Liliana Hart and my adventures across Europe – If you’ve just awaken, check hashtag #EuroDash16 I’m going to minimize this post because I have to wear a shirt and regular pants for tonight’s event, and someone has to […]
FIT@50 / week 69
FIT@50 / week 69 Price of Pizza: This week while in Paris, Liliana Hart and I took off on the city in a series of pedicab driven adventures. To say the experience was anything less than epic would be an understatement. But at what price? I’m always talking with her and our kids about situational awareness. The boys think it’s funny, while the girls think I’m trying to make the junior high boys afraid of them (maybe both.) After […]
FIT@50 / week 68
mostly listen to little voices laughing, and reading to each other, or one would wander off into the dark imagining he was Ironman, while they watched lightening bugs spark throughout the wooded backyard.
FIT@50 / week 67
FIT@50 / week 67 Just Do It: I can tell you that the last place you would have found me on a Thursday night is the opera house. Yet, guess where I spent Thursday night? Yep, downtown Dallas at an opera house. Liliana Hart and I do lots of things for and because of each other. We’re a team, and it’s what we do. But when it comes to finding something that five very different kids agree on, she and […]
FIT@50 / week 66
FIT@50 / week 66 True Power: “When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace.” – Jimi Hendrix This week I received two notices about Chief of Police positions in Louisiana. My immediate thoughts were “No thanks.” It was about this time last year that I’d announced my August 28th retirement date. I would’ve never in a million years thought retirement from the only job I’d known would’ve been a reality. To be honest, […]
FIT@50 / week 40
FIT@50 / week 40 Big Shoes Facebook launches these memories and top posts apps along with other fun and invasive things […]
FIT@50 / week 39
I walked across water
FIT@50 \ week 14
FIT@50 \ week 14 Balance Thursday night at a family birthday supper my niece said how odd it looked to see a wedding ring on my hand. I said it throws me off balance. Then I thought about what I said. There’s a weight associated with this ring. It’s called balance. To shift from decades of doing what I wanted, when I wanted to coordinating daily calendars for meeting the needs of the family took balance. Shifting gears from an “I want” […]
FIT@50 \ week 7
FIT@50 \ week 7 Standing Guard: I stood watch all night as poor kiddo was in and out of the bathroom. Watching from the foot of his bed I realized how easy it was to know when to react based on his body’s movements of feeling distressed. Being FIT requires an ability to guard against the things in life not so obvious. Things such as gossip and harsh words against your character. While you don’t have control over when or what naysayers […]
FIT@50 \ week 6
PLEASE SHARE to SAY HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAX
Hug a Police Dispatcher – Do it today
This week honors Emergency Dispatchers – the life lines who answer frantic 9-1-1 calls, dispatches officers to the scene and records the funny or painful details of each call for service. Often unsung, Emergency Communications Operators are the true heroes – Hug a Police Dispatcher – Do it today
FIT@50 \ week 4
FIT@50 \ week 4: 1 hour – I was feeling a bit omniscient this week as my 25th year in law enforcement roared around. Sharing a few old stories with the guys helped me reflect on how incredibly different my life had turned out. Our historical journey migrated to a generational generalization. You know the one about, “kids now a days…” Seems the moment 8 hours of accrued leave is earned, some employees miraculously become ill for precisely 8 hours. Just then […]
It’s My Anniversary:
the sacrifices are noble when offered with a sincere heart.
Why are police funerals good for the profession?
Last month I visited the National Law Enforcement Memorial in Washington, DC. I stood over the granite wall with the carvings of more than 20,000 names of officers killed for no other reason than reporting for duty. I knelt at panel 38-E:25 and ran my fingers over his name – Octavio Rafael Gonzales. The feigned smile exchanged the grief I’ve carried over the years for a public show of respect. On the very next panel, number 36-E: 27 – Timothy Bergeron elicited […]
FITx50 \ week 26
FITx50 \ week 26 What do BL and I have in common? Other than an almost 50 year spread, we both love cheesecake. This was his first time tasting it. My sister had the great idea of sharing mine with the tyke. End result – kid gets new treat and great uncle eats less cheesecake. Win – Win if you’re the one year old. Kidding of course. This week has been fantastic as I returned to a regular schedule at Momentum Gym […]
TPD Celebrated 3rd Annual Blue Summit
“We are a shining example to the nation that you can combine compassion and policing to achieve great things.” Those are the words heard by Thibodaux Police Department personnel as Thibodaux Chief of Police Scott Silverii spoke at Blue Summit, the agency’s annual departmental meeting. The entire department gathers once a year to share a meal, receive awards, and hear from Mayor Eschete and Chief Silverii, who recap the previous year and share a vision for the next. “We’re going to continue […]
FITx50 \ week 21
FITx50 \ week 21 was spent on another adventure out West. While the endless walking involved in what is Las Vegas was exhausting, I’m not sure it counts as exercise. Not when buffets, pizzas, fancy foods and snacks bookend each journey. Encouraging was the wisdom to avoid the slots, and keeping up a frantic pace. Between solving the CSI exhibit’s mystery and helicoptering / boating / hiking the Grand Canyon, I held up pretty good. Christmas was also wonderful to return home […]
FITx50 \ week 19
FITx50 \ week 19 This is my favorite Christmas picture for several reasons. For purposes of this post, the expressions illustrate the yin and yang of fitness and dieting. Santa’s look is how I feel after I blow my diet. The sly grinning kiddo is how I feel once I’ve logged in the exercise and managed to avoid the sweets. I also think its funny because the photographer failed to notice the “horned” candles behind Santa’s head. This week, I can say my […]
Ferguson & Public Engagement | What are they good for?
What’s the best time to plant a tree? – 30 years ago. What’s the next best time to plant a tree? – Today In general, law enforcement has made for horrible horticulturalists. We’ve not tilled the soil of community engagement as a practice. Now we wonder why no one understands us. When an incident like Ferguson erupts, the pundits hurry to fend off allegations from a civilian population incessantly asking for answers. I’ve had so many tell how they’ve unfriended people on […]
FITx50 \ week 18
You thinking what I’m thinking? Breakfast? No, but it was delicious yesterday. Delicious but not over indulged. I made it through this holiday by eating great food, with family and friends. Before i got a bit full, guess what? I stopped. Planning ahead, i also anticipated the desserts, so I made an effort to up the exercise leading up to T-Day. And….I plan on enjoying a great community post-holiday session of crossfit Friday morning. So what was the lesson this week? Not […]
“If Not Us, Who?”
“If Not Us, Who?” My heart weighs heavy in this week before the important decisions contemplated by a civilian grand jury in another state. After nearly 25 years of serving my community and country, I see the potential for an occupationalrevolution. The potential for substantially significant cultural change. While most revolutions are spurned through violence, this cannot be one of them. Soon, events born in violence will again effect this country. Not just for today, but years to come. Regardless what you […]
Us versus Them | A Ferguson Outcome
Us versus Them: Sunday I shared the burden on my spirit in anticipation of the grand jury decision, “If Not Us, Who?” (https://www.facebook.com/CopsWritingCrime) It wasn’t about an outcome. It was that our nation rallied on either side of the issue based not on facts and evidence, but on historical perspective. Truth is, there’s more than one narrative to American history. Just before turning off the news, I received a private message. Simply, it read – We Won! In clarity, I saw this […]
FITx50 / week 17
FITx50 / week 17 and this has been my approach of late. After last week’s post-travel and fancy food eating festival I returned to the crossfit gym. I was greeted by the realization that at closer to 50 than I was weeks ago, shape, like the space station, is something just waiting to drop. Some crazy workout call Down Sally Up – yeah, that’s what I said – I got the down part pretty good. Okay, mostly I’m kidding but this little […]
FITx50 \ week 16
Week 16? What happened to weeks 14 & 15? Well, that’s what I want to know. It’s crazy how trips to south Florida and the Carolinas can easily take you off your game plan. Seriously, I’m like a bald tire spinning in marsh grass. I had to reintroduce myself to my friends at Momentum Crossfit, my Trek Madone 6.9 won’t even look at me and ice cream and I have been joyously reunited. How? That’s my struggle. Weeks to months of sustained […]
FITx50 \ week 13
Did I Do That? The Warrior Dash is in the books, and I’m super energized with motivation and memories. While it wasn’t the most physically challenging thing I’ve accomplished, it was one of the most enjoyable. Why? It was a short-term health / fitness goal associated with a cause greater than losing a pound or two and flexing some rusted muscle. I’ve already set another goal to get me through the holiday season. So I encourage you to do the same. Don’t be that […]
Leading or leaning?
Think of those immediately surrounding you in supervisory positions. Now filter out your natural biases, jealousies or negative comments. Just look around. How did they get to where they are? Okay, now you’re free to flood the responses with whatever your perception is of how they arrived at that level. Some of your suspicions are probably true. This article isn’t as much for those being led, as those doing the leading. Ask yourselves how’d you get where you are? Was it because you […]
FITx50 \ week 12 – SPECIAL EDITION
Warrior Dash DASHED Fitness Benchmark #1 has been met. This weekend was the Warrior Dash in St. Francisville, La. Our team of Cops-n-Kilts sponsored by Liliana Hart’s Warriors started strong and finished even gutsier. There was unexpected difficult terrain, injuries and dehydration within the unit, but no one left the others. I’m still in awe of the effort of each. No matter how tough, everyone knew we were doing this for the true Warriors committed to kicking the crap out of cancer. […]
FITx50 \ week 11
Gotta get up to get down That’s this week’s theme. I’ve been faithfully training for my first fitness benchmark – October 11th’s Warrior Dash. Crossfit 5x/week along with running and cycling. Cut carbs WAY down and feasted on protein throughout the days. On target to work close with our Cops-N-Kilts team. Then, I hear the kiddo make that late night sound every parent dreads – the Yulp. Yes, stomach virus. Of course, doctor dad attends into the morning and next day with lugging […]
FITx50 | week 10
Fight Like a Girl Thinking through this week’s update, I took this picture of Lori Cortez at work. We often kid at the office and were working on a fund-raiser by selling the bracelets she’s modeling. BTW they read MAN ENOUGH TO WEAR PINK and SAVE 2nd BASE. Then she said, “It’s already been a year.” as she turned her head away. I knew what she meant. It wasn’t spoken but her eyes glistened with the significance of her diagnosis just a […]
FITx50 | Wk 9
Monkey See. Monkey Do Seems after nine weeks the theme of Cops-n-Kilts has turned into Kids-n-Kilts. The kiddo not only loves his Boston Strong shirt, but sporting his sport wrap. He also loves going to crossfit to exercise after the big kids (adults) do. One of the major benefit of reclaiming a healthy lifestyle is your Silent Witness. While we ache and creek and moan and stretch – others see the effort, the commitment, the progress. Now as an 18-year-old – I […]
FITx50 | wk 8
I’m a romance novel cover model – Really? Those writer’s conferences can get pretty wild, but you know fiction is crazier than reality. Hu? Speaking of conferences and fitness, I spent last weekend in North Carolina to present classes to amazing authors at the Writer’s Police Academy. It was a wonderful event as always. Even tough the pace was hectic and non-stop smoozing – I did find time to exercise. As far as eating right, well not so much. But no worries […]
Community policing starts at the top – the Very top
Thibodaux Mayor Eschete and Bicycle Patrol
Mission Possible: TPD Accepts the ALS Ice Water Challenge
I’ve been challenged by numerous fantastically caring people over the last several weeks. We sat in a light-hearted brainstorming session this week to create a response video. Within 15 minutes the imaginative group of officers took a simple idea and ran with it. More pleasing to me as their Chief of Police was that everyone dropped their guard to join in. Even if it meant making fun of themselves. It was for a cause greater than anyone of us. In this era […]
Blessed with new friends along the way
John Kerry has been a vital volunteer in promoting our Thibodaux Police Department’s social media strategy.
Dr. Drew Interview
This was a difficult time for our city, but thankful for close community and respectful media coverage.
TBT – SWAT School (1990)
Always fun to shoot up stuff. Ever heard of a Nor’easter? We bayou boys learned real quick out in the plains of West Texas.
Well, ya see…
Fun with our city’s senior citizens – Community policing at every age.
K-9 Interview | Readers’ Questions Answered #2
ALEXANDER SIMPSON: I’ve heard that some officers have to pay for their dogs out of their own pocket. Is that true? LT. EDDIE RODRIGUE: Yes it’s true. I have worked several of my own K-9’s. I donated my present K-9 Vic, so I would be allowed to work him. Our department now buys green dogs for the other handlers and I complete the initial training to save the department the price of a fully trained dog. Our department pays $5,500.00 […]
K-9 Interview | Readers’ Questions Answered #1
K-9 QUESTION SHERRY TROOP “I saw recently on TV that dogs trained to sniff bombs in Afghanistan are now being used for the same job in Washington D.C. (The dog featured is 4years old). Is it difficult for both the dog & it’s handler to separate from each after working as partners for so long? I would think they would bond closely. Which gender is best suited?” LT. E RODRIGUE “I find it very hard to separate once you have a […]
Police K-9 Interview | Part 2
Many thanks to Lieutenant Eddie Rodrigue, III for taking his time to answer questions about K-9 Handlers and their partners. Join […]
Police K-9 Interview | Part 1
Many thanks to Lieutenant Eddie Rodrigue, III for taking his time to answer questions about K-9 Handlers and their partners. Join Chief Scott Silverii for more from Eddie Rodrigue. Thanks again Eddie. Lets start with an introduction? I’m currently a Lieutenant for the Thibodaux Police Department. I supervise the K-9 Unit and Problem Oriented Policing Unit. I’m also assigned to the Lafourche Parish Interagency Crises Management Unit (SWAT). I’m currently a National Certifying Official for the National Narcotics Detection Dog Association […]
Our HOT CAR Message went viral | Just don’t do it
The Thibodaux Police Department challenges each officer to create innovative social media messaging that relates to our citizens and demonstrates our willingness to extend ourselves to serve the city. This selfless demonstration by Public Information Officer Detective David Melancon illustrates our vision of service. Way to Geaux
The basis for a right relationship
In my years of ministry, I have been with numerous people as they left this life to enter into eternity. None have called for their accountant or their bankbooks. They only call for their family members, friends, and their God. At the end of life we all realize the only thing that really matters is our relationships. Ultimately, the most important is the relationship we have with our God. God created a special garden He called Eden, and placed the first man […]
Be an Oak
It was around 1981-1982 that I decided to quit my job and pursue the full-time ministry of an Evangelist. I had been taught by my Pastor that you never make major changes without prayer and fasting. I had a wife and two children at this time (my youngest was not yet born), and making this decision was serious because it would affect their lives greatly. I had to know it was God directing me. I took a few days off from […]